One set of qualifiers was already determined with Botas playing Arka Gdynia and the other two were drawn with Lattes Montpellier playing Olympiacos and Reyer Venezia playing DVTK. After that, both groups were drawn.

Ekaterinburg looks likely to avoid too many difficult challenges early in Group A play, but there will be plenty of interest competing for the other places with USK Praha looking to return to the final stage. TTT Riga is less likely to sneak up on anyone this year and Nadezhda will be looking to stay in this competition rather than fighting for other trophies. Bourges had to battle their way back into this competition and should be tough when the season rolls around while roster strength will be the key factor for Cukurova and Braine as a qualifying round winner will complete the group.

The final strength of the group may rest on the qualifying round winners, but Group B looks to have a lot of teams with realistic playoff aspirations, especially with significant roster turnover for the big name teams. Dynamo Kursk and Sopron will certainly feel like they should go back to final four, but Fenerbahce has gone with more drastic changes to get back to that level. Lyon is ambitious and Girona will be trying to carry some of the momentum from their domestic triumph while Schio may be flying under the radar now, but will be worth watching when the games begin.

The story of the draw is the large number of Turkish teams possible here after they were spread out among the groups. The EuroLeague qualifier will drop into Group A, which could be a wide open affair as Elitzur Ramla brings Israeli representation back to the competition. Prishtina is happy to be a part of proceedings, but unless they can pull out big name signings, they will definitely struggle in Group B, which features the Moscow teams and a tough Besiktas club. The lone qualifying matchup will send its winner to Group C, where all eyes will be on Polkowice to see how they compare to last year’s team. Teams in Group D should be ready for extra long trips around the continent as Tsmoki and Ruzomberok will be looking to surprise Enisey or Hatay. Galatasaray figures to start as the favorites in Group E, but the other teams will have a chance to make their case.

Teams in Group F will be wary of the threat of newcomers Olivais, but Gyor will be focused on breaking in to the battle of Spain between Avenida and Gernika. In Group G, Valencia is in a strong position to advance its ambitions even with a EuroLeague qualifier dropping down into the group. Group H is a bit more open for now unless one of the teams makes a key signing to give them the advantage. The German teams were both drawn into Group I, where Szekszard will start as the favorite, but both will think that they can advance. France is the story in Group J where Roche will be looking for a strong start against a team with more experience in this format like Fribourg. Carolo figures to be the overwhelming favorite and it remains to be seen whether Liege and the other Belgian teams will be fielding young teams or if they can bolster their roster with more known players.

As has been the case in recent years, more teams applied for spots than were available so there will be qualifying games before the regular season starts in EuroLeague and EuroCup. The three losing teams in EuroLeague qualifiers will drop down to the EuroCup for group play.

EuroLeague:

Nineteen teams applied for the sixteen spots in Europe’s premier competition so there will be three qualifying games. In order to facilitate EuroCup, the qualifiers were separated into east and west so we already know that Botas of Turkey will play Arka Gdynia of Poland in one set of qualifiers. In the west, Lattes Montpellier of France and Reyer Venezia of Italy will play either Olympiacos of Greece or DVTK of Hungary with matchups determined by random draw.

The reduction in applicants means that Russia will again get three teams directly entered into the competition as Nadezhda will not have to navigate a tricky set of games to join Dynamo Kursk and reigning champions Ekaterinburg. The two countries with two teams automatically qualifying are Turkey, represented by Fenerbahce and Cukurova, and France, represented by league champions Lyon and cup winners Bourges. A number of familiar faces return as well with Sopron of Hungary and USK Praha of the Czech Republic looking to follow up strong campaigns last season along with TTT Riga, the team with the most championships. Schio of Italy will be looking to put themselves back in the conversation for being one of the better teams while Braine from Belgium would like a longer run than last season and Girona enters the competition after winning the title in Spain.

EuroCup:

The lone qualifying games will be played in the eastern conference with Spartak Noginsk of Russia paying the price for domestic struggles even with consistent participation at this level, giving them a pair of games against Kayseri of Turkey. Those two countries will have a number of representatives in these groups as MBA Moscow, Spartak Moscow, and Enisey Kranoyarsk represent Russia and Galatasaray, Hatay, Besiktas, and Orman increase Turkish participation. The other country with three teams is Poland as their champions Polkowice are not playing at a higher level this year, joining this competition with Gorzow and Bydgoszcz, but not traditional powerhouses Wisla Krakow. The other country with multiple teams is Sweden as Umea and Lulea have experience at this level. Other familiar names include KP Brno of the Czech Republic, Ruzomberok of Slovakia, Sepsi of Romania, and Tsmoki-Minsk of Belarus. Elitzur Ramla‘s entry means a return for Israeli teams and an unexpected first entry comes from Prishtina of Kosovo.

The western conference will also their share of strong teams. Avenida drops down to this level after failing to win a championship in Spain and are joined by Gernika again and also new entrants in Sedis and ambitious Valencia. Hungary will have at least four teams with Gyor, Szekszard, Cegled, and PEAC all looking to make some noise. Carolo will again represent France with Landes and newcomers Roche joining them. Belgium has three teams with Sint-Katejline-Waver, Namur, and Liege involved. Herner and Keltern will be the Germany entrants, Fribourg returns for Switzerland, and a different Portuguese side will play this year as Olivais makes the step up to this level.

The last game of the competition was played on Wednesday in Lattes as the hosts figured to be in a strong position having already won in Orenburg. Nadezhda had other ideas, overturning the deficit and outscoring their opponents in every quarter to win 75-57. That was enough to move the final margin to 146-132 as the duo of Brionna Jones and Erica Wheeler pushed their team to the title. Nadezhda did not expect to be dropped into this competition, but took it very seriously after entering, leaving with silverware from what has been a tougher season than expected. Lattes Montpellier was dominant throughout the competition, but finally met their match when teams parachuted in from EuroLeague.

The first of the championship series was played in Orenburg on Wednesday. Nadezhda was in the middle of a four game in seven day stretch as they chased trophies on multiple fronts. Lattes Montpellier had the better start and then maintained their lead to win 75-71, which will leave them in advantageous position when they host the last game in a week, but they will be wary of the threat posed by a team that should be better rested for the game that will determine the champion.

Both series concluded on Thursday. Nadezhda brought home a solid lead to Orenburg and did enough to keep Schio from getting closer, winning 67-62 to push the final margin to 134-123. Lattes Montpellier had a narrower lead, but quickly slammed the door on Keisha Hampton and Girona as a 98-69 win expanded the final total to 98-69. The final games will be played over the next two Wednesdays starting in Orenburg and then moving to Lattes.

Both series started on Thursday. Lattes Montpellier built a big lead in the middle quarters, but Keisha Hampton and Girona fought back to make it a respectable 69-66 loss, although they will find it difficult to get the result they need on the road in a week’s time. The road team also won the other game as Brionna Jones and Nadezhda will bring home a 67-61 lead on Allie Quigley and Schio.